Portable arm-rest and table



(No Model.)

J. M. FISH. PORTABLE ARM REST AND TABLE.

No. 434,559. Patented Aug. 19, 1890.

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JAMES M. FISH, OF ALBUQUERQUE,TERRITORY OF NEW MEXICO.

PORTABLE ARM-REST AND TABLE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 434,559, dated August 19, 1890.

Application filed September 2, 1889- Serial No. 322,781. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JAMES M. FISH, a resident of Albuquerque, in the county of Bernalillo and Territory of New Mexico, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Portable Arm-Rests and Tables; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it pertains to make and use the same.

The object of my invention is to produce a portable device adapted to be suspended from the person and to hold paper for writing thereon, and also adapted to support the hand and arm of the writer, and it is particularly designed for use on railway-cars or other conveyances and-in like situations; and it consists in the construction hereinafter described and pointed out.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a perspective, and Fig. 2 a bottom plan view, of the device.

Reference -figure 1 indicates a board or tablet, made of wood, paper, metal, or any convenient material and supported upon wires 2 2, adapted to engage and be supported by a frame or yoke 3, shaped to hang upon the shoulders of the user and suspend the tablet in front of him. The supporting-wires 2 and 2 are secured to the board or tablet on itsunder side, preferably by staples 4,or by equivalent means that will permit the wires to turn for the purpose of folding the same The ends of each of these wires extend laterally from the table, two of them 5 5 near its plane and two 6 6 at a downward inclination for a purpose to be hereinafter described, and they are provided at their extremities with hooks.

The frame 3 may be made of one piece of wire and it extends from the abdominal region in front'up and over the shoulders on each side of the neck and down across the shoulder-blades vertically and thence across the back of the user. The downward extension 4 is preferably made to reach below the shoulders, so that it will aid to support the table from the back in the region of the shoulder-blades. It is made continuous across the back and is supported thereby. It is preferably made of copper wire or other flexible material thatwill permit it to be bent and shaped to the neck, shoulders, and back of persons of different size. In this frame 3, at the front thereof and near the plane of the table, are formed sockets 8 8. This may conveniently be done by coiling the wire of the frame substantially as represented. Two other sockets 9 9 are provided at the bottom of the frame. These sockets receive the downturned ends or hooks of the wires on which the table rests, thereby supporting the table from said sockets, as clearly shown in Fig. 1; The ends of wires 5 and 6 are readily lifted from their respective sockets, and then folded down upon the under side of the board convenient for storing or transportation.

At 7 is shown a wire-springpaper-clip that may, if desired, be coiled at 10 on each side of the board, the ends of the wire being secured under the staples or in the material of the board, as found convenient. The purpose of this wire is to hold paper inserted under it and allow its easy adjustment thereunder.

In operation the frame 3 is placed on the shoulders of the user, so that the part 4 rests against the upper part of the back, as specified, and the table is supported on the wires 5 6, secured by means of their free downturned ends,which enter the sockets in frame 3 at or near the height of the elbow, and. so that the forearm and hand rest comfortably on it in convenient position for writing on paper held under the spring 7. The paper can be moved up under this spring and from thewriter, so that the writing thereon. shall be out of the way of the hand, and so that long paper or paper of any ordinary length may beused.

The invention is independent of any particular size; but it has been found that a table two feet and a half in length by one and a quarter wide is very suit-able and convenient, and that the coils or sockets may be made an inch and a half in depth.

It is obvious that other paper-clips could be used, though the form shown permits the paper to be conveniently and easily pushed up under it and out of the way. It will be also understood that the exact location of the sockets is not essential. It is, however, desirable to use light wire or other similar material, and it is preferred to arrange them in dif ferent planes, so that the lower wire ends 6 6 may act as struts to support the table. The upper sockets or coils might be arranged in a plane higher than the board, the wires being bent in an obvious manner to reach to and enter them.

Though the frame 3 could be made in one piece, it is conveniently formed of two pieces, the ends of which may be made to overlap and bend around each other, as indicated at 11 11. This c0nstructi0n,co1nbined with the socket coils, adds stifl'ness to that portion of the frame to which the rest or board is applied and permits light wire to be used, and such wire orlike material can be readily bent and modified to conform to the person of the wearer.

Devices of this general character have heretofore been proposed, the board being placed immediately in front of the person; but in none of these has provision been made for supporting the hand or forearm in an easy position at the side, nor for conveniently using long strips of paper,nor for supporting the device by parts extending down over the shoulderblades and across the back, though wires have been passed over the shoulders and their ends left free, a construction which required heavier material than in mine, in which the wires are connected transversely, and the free ends of the wires in the former construction were liable to catch in the clothing when the device was being applied to the person, and they were also liable to spread apart unless made quite stifi.

I am aware that wire-spring paper-clips upon writing-tables are not new, and such device is not of my invention; but a clip is especially important in connection with a writing-table which is located at the side of the person, and therefore remote from the free hand of the writer. My claim of invention, however, is confined to the construction substantially as set forth, whereby the table is supported at the side either with or without a clip.

Having thus described my invention, what 1I desire to secure by Letters Patent is as folows:

1. The arm-rest and writing-table composed of the board and the supporting-yoke situated at one side of the same, the wires secured to the bottom of the board and having ends extending laterally from said board and bent into hooks, the frame or yoke being provided with sockets to receive the hooks, all combined substantially as described, whereby the board may be suspended near the side of the person in a vertical plane passing through the shoulder.

2. A supporting-yoke and frame and a writing table or board situated laterally with respect to the yoke, said board being provided with wires secured thereto and extending laterally therefrom and entering sockets in the supporting-frame at about the level of the board and provided with other Wires likewise extending to one side, but to a lower level, and entering sockets at such lower level, all combined substantially as described.

3. A writing table or board and arm-rest a frame or yoke made of wire or like material situated at the side of said board, having a lower part bent to conform to the abdomen, and at each end of such part extending upwardly and bent over and down and then eonnectcd transversely at the rear, the wire extending across the back and the whole adapted to conform to the front, sides, shoulders, and back of the person and provided with sockets to receive supporting-wires extending laterally from said board, and said supporting-wires made of different-lengths, substantially as described.

4. The writing-table and arm-rest provided with supporting-wires of unequal lengths extending laterally with respect to the table, but at different angles, combined with a yoke or frame having sockets at different elevations to receive the several wires, whereby the table is supported at the side .of the person when in use, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I have signed this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

JAMES M. FISH.

Witnesses:

EDWIN COOPER, FRANK BURGETT. 

